It ain't over till it's over: How India changed the game in weeks
India Today
In weeks' time, India has changed the mood on trade deals. From being portrayed as a loser by Trump aide Howard Lutnick, New Delhi now seems to have the upper hand in India-US trade negotiations. It has finalised the India-EU FTA and will be hosting the Canadian PM in March. This after sealing an FTA with New Zealand.
India, a cricket-worshipping nation, knows this all too well. It ain't over till the last ball has been bowled. Matches can swing, and the trailing team can suddenly emerge victorious. The rules of the cricket field apply in many ways to diplomacy. That will be the takeaway from two weeks of January as an India, which was seen to have lost out in the US trade deal, suddenly swamps with good news on trade negotiations.
India and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced that negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) had been concluded. This comes after an FTA was finalised between India and New Zealand, which was one of the fastest-negotiated deals. Earlier, India inked trade deals with the UK and Oman.
The mood suddenly seems upbeat and is quite different from when Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump's aide and US Commerce Secretary, faulted India for missing the opportunity in negotiating the trade deal with the US. Lutnick said India was given "three Fridays" to finalise the terms and all that was needed was Prime Minister Narendra Modi to call Trump, who closes all deals.
The opposition Congress too joined in to mock the Modi government.
"Hug hag na raha, post post na raha, kya se kya ho gaya bewafa tere dosti mein," Congress MP Jairam Ramesh posted on X, sharing Lutnick's comments.
Now, Trump might have played an unlikely catalyst for the India-EU FTA with his tariffs on India and threats to European countries, especially over the Greenland takeover issue.
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